A Michigan appeals court has overturned the convictions of two men who were found guilty of providing material support for an act of terrorism in connection with a 2020 plot to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. The court’s decision, which cited technical grounds, also impacts a third co-defendant.
Pete Musico and Paul Bellar were convicted alongside Joe Morrison. A separate panel of the Michigan Court of Appeals had previously set aside Morrison’s conviction in June. The court stated it was obligated to apply that ruling to Musico and Bellar as well.
The appeals court determined that kidnapping is not an underlying violent felony that can support a conviction under Michigan’s terrorism law. This ruling means the specific legal basis for their terrorism convictions is invalid.
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel criticized the decision, calling it “linguistic gymnastics.” She announced plans to ask the Michigan Supreme Court to review the cases.
Morrison, Musico, and Bellar were not accused of directly participating in the alleged kidnapping plot. Court documents indicated that Bellar had relocated out of state weeks before federal arrests were made in October 2020, and Morrison and Musico stated they were no longer in contact with key figures in the scheme.
However, the three men had been members of a paramilitary group that had trained with Adam Fox, who was prosecuted in federal court as a leader and is currently serving a 16-year prison sentence for conspiracy.
Prosecutors stated that the conspirators were motivated by anger over stringent COVID-19 restrictions implemented by Whitmer and other state officials early in the pandemic, as well as perceived threats to gun ownership. The plot aimed to abduct Whitmer from her vacation home shortly before the 2020 presidential election.
Whitmer, a Democrat, was never physically harmed. The FBI had placed undercover agents and informants within Fox’s group for months, leading to the disruption of the plot.
The overall investigation yielded mixed results for law enforcement, with five of the fourteen men originally charged being acquitted at trial.